How To Prevent Frozen Pipes This New Year

When the temperature drops in winter, pipes can freeze and even burst! This can cause serious damage to your home and belongings. Read our ‘How To Prevent Frozen Pipes This New Year’ article to ensure you don’t start the new year disastrously and have a happy new year instead…

How To Prevent Frozen Pipes This New Year

Why do pipes freeze?

Cold weather leaves your water pipes vulnerable to freezing – here are some common causes:

Pipes are not properly insulated

Cracks or gaps in pipes, usually where the pipe enters the home, leaves them exposed to icy draughts

Pipes inside cupboards

If your cupboard doors are always kept closed, warm air will not reach the pipes inside.

Why do pipes burst?

Bursts are caused by water freezing and expanding inside the pipe. Pipes don’t usually burst at the place where an ice blockage has occurred, but continual freezing and expansion of the water causes a pressure build-up between the ice blockage and the tap. It is this repeated pressure that results in the pipe bursting

How to prevent pipes from bursting

Here are some simple helpful tips to prevent frozen pipes and keep water flowing freely.

• Insulate your loft and water tanks
• Wrap pipes in lagging.
• Open your loft hatch door and the sink cupboard on cold days to let heat in.
• In very cold weather, leave your heating low – especially if you are going on holiday for longer than a couple of days.

Find your stopcock

Locate your stopcock and check it regularly – you need to turn it off easily in an emergency.

Maintenance is key

Always replace washers in dripping taps; if the tap freezes, it will block the pipes

If your pipes freeze

Dealing with burst pipes is tricky. If your pipes burst or freeze over the winter months, call a professional!

L&W Heating and Plumbing

A gas safety check is recommended each and every year by a reputable Gas Safe registered plumber.  Whatever your heating and plumbing needs: from fixing a leaking tap to a brand-new water saving shower, we can help: call LW Heating and Plumbing today on one of our numbers below for more information:-

Plumbers Wigan 01942 417220
Plumbers St Helens 01744 776140
Plumbers Warrington 01925 394260
Plumbers Newton Le Willows 01925 394260